BENGALURU: Amidst the congestion of vehicular traffic in Bengaluru, pedestrians have little claim to the roads, or even footpaths. Moreover, even zebra crossings – the sanctioned spaces that are supposed to allow pedestrians to cross roads – seem to be beyond the median pedestrian’s claim. Vehicles are often seen illegally occupying zebra crossings across the city when stationary, exposing those on foot to hazards and accidents.
This phenomenon is neither new nor restricted to any specific area; commuters and pedestrians must have witnessed on multiple occasions vehicles moving beyond the stop line, onto the zebra crossing, or even beyond it. Traffic expert Prof MN Sreehari believes that two-wheelers are mostly to blame.c“All vehicles are supposed to stop before the stop line. Unfortunately, two-wheelers go beyond it. The cameras set up (by the Bengaluru Traffic Police) try to capture the licence plates and book offenders,” he said.
Even when zebra crossings are free, most run on a 10-second timer, in which window pedestrians must cross the road. While this might come across as adequate on some roads, it is a far cry on wider roads. Sreehari claims that this is enough, revealing that a walking speed of 10 kmph is taken into account while ascertaining the time limit.
However, the average walking speed of an adult human does not exceed 5 kmph, which does not account for children and the elderly, who are considerably slower. Far slower on average, of course, would be people with disabilities. The problem is compounded when vehicles, not adhering to traffic lights, further eat into this small window.
This is not all. Many intersections, including the busy Ejipura Signal intersection between the Intermediate Ring Road and Wind Tunnel Road, have no zebra crossing at all. People are supposed to simply move with vehicular traffic, which again, notoriously defies the traffic lights, despite traffic police personnel deployed there, most of the time.
Admitting that he was unaware of this, DCP, Traffic (North), Jayaprakash, mentioned that he would look at the proper procedure about implementing a zebra crossing at the intersection. About vehicles flouting rules at the junction, he reiterated that he “would look into it”.
